Mac Fleming is Editor-in-Chief for the Roar for Midlothian Heritage High School in Midlothian, Texas. Fleming works with his fellow regional organizers to reach schools and advisors, Fleming specifically focusing on Western Texas.

“I think press rights are important because students are essentially first on the ground in our communities most of the time. So, the ability to relay information to everyone else, especially to our fellow students, becomes a task of utmost importance. That is why this law is important. Restriction and tact are necessary for measured circumstances, but the way the system is now is not measured, and students should be given the responsibility of what they will and will not pursue when it comes to the news.”

What I Do

As the West Texas Regional Organizer of New Voices Texas for 2023-2024, I am working to increase the reach of the New Voices movement by getting student journalists, their publications, their advisors, and their non-journalist peers involved in our fight for press rights.

I am responsible for reaching out to and actively encouraging student publications in West Texas to become involved in our organization as well as facilitating the creation of New Voices clubs at schools with journalists by reaching out to student journalists and showing them how the rights of press freedom benefit us all.

I will measure success as an officer by how many students and their publications feel that they deserve to be heard and join the fight to create a pathway to press freedoms for Texas student journalists, especially if they join our organization. By the end of the school year, I hope that I have made a significant impact on the student journalists of West Texas and their desire to be heard out by the world.